Environment job sector shrinking

A new survey released today has found that the UK green employment sector is seeing job losses and opportunities in the green sector are expected to shrink in 2011.

The survey was managed by Environmental Data Services (ENDS) and polled over 2,000 environmental professionals.

The mood among the respondents was distinctly gloomy with three in five expecting public spending cuts to directly affect environmental employment in their organisation.

ENDS editor-in-chief, Nick Rowcliffe, said the survey would serve as a 'wake-up call for government'.

He said: "Real progress towards a greener economy is going to require exactly the multi-disciplinary skills that have built up over years in the environmental profession, and which are now under threat."

The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and the Society for the Environment (SocEnv) were also involved in the survey.

They pressed the government to commit the resources needed for a green economy.

CIWEM executive director, Nick Reeves, said: "The green revolution is stalling and the thousands of new green-collar jobs that were promised aren't materialising fast enough.

"The 'greenest government ever' must clarify its environmental policies and put in place green growth plans."

SocEnv acting chief executive, Kerry Geldart, said: "We urge the government to recognise that environmental professionals are leading the way, and that its most pressing duty is to get fully behind the skills and resources required to meet the future." Alison Brown